Video Game Evaluation-Jungle Escape

1. Evaluation
Alice Leeman

2. Research
My research PowerPoint was a strong point in my project when completing this PowerPoint. I
looked up 4 different existing video games that I could analyse and write about. I wrote
about what the game is about, the colour themes, the kind of music that is played, the
visuals of the game, etc. I feel that I was able to write quite a lot and I also was able to
complete this in good time. I made sure I looked at different types of video games, for
example, I looked at first person runner games like ‘Temple Run’ but I also looked at platform
games like ‘Jungle Quest’. Both of these games had different aims and themes.
This research helped me gain different ideas on how I could put together my video game, for
example I chose the same layout as the game ‘Fireboy and Watergirl’ as I liked the different
ways you could change the platforms and add in your own challenges. On the slide, in the
powerpoint, where I talked about the different colour themes I could use I was able to
distinguish in what colours I personally liked best for my game.
I also completed a small bibliography which I gave small details about existing video games
where I mentioned who the developer was, the release date and a link to play the game if
possible therefor people can see for themselves the type of game and websites that I have
been looking at.
I think that in my research I could have looked into more existing video games that weren’t
jungle related as I could have then had other themes to write about and possibly a wider
range of ideas that I could write about and use for my actual production.

3. Planning
Strengths:
In the slides where I wrote my mood board analysis I feel I was able to talk about quite a lot with what
images I included in my mood board. I used some of the images that I selected to talk about how I could
add this in my video game and what aspects of the photos I liked. I talked about the different objects I
could add in, the types of characters I could use, the layout of my video game, etc. These slides helped
me pick out the small details that I liked the best out of the images and ideas I had so I could then piece
these ideas together to make my video game.
Weaknesses
I feel like the first couple of slides of my planning were not my strongest point when completing them. I
feel like I didn’t get as much information down as I could though I don’t believe it was to do with time
management. I think by this point I was still struggling with ideas for what I actually wanted to do for my
video game so I felt less confident in completing these mind maps of ideas by this point. I feel like when I
completed the mood board and started looking into the small details of what I could include in my game
is when I started to come up with more ideas and I could start filling in the mind maps.
I think if I had a more clearer vision, at the beginning of my initial plans PowerPoint, about what I wanted
to include in my video game then I could have gone through each slide a lot quicker and would also feel
more confident in completing my production work.

4. Time Management
When it came to completing the power points, I feel like I managed my time quite well and I managed
to complete all my power points in time to complete and upload them onto blogger before starting
my production. This meant I had time to start on my production at the time that I had planned out
beforehand and I didn’t have to worry about finishing off any PowerPoint slides. I do feel however
that if I did have more time I could have more time adding extra detail to what I had already written
down.
When creating my video game, I did have to work on my production outside of study time for most of
the time. This is because within the first couple of days of production I had created some visuals for
my game, however there were aspects of my game that didn’t turn out the way I had planned it, for
example the platforms I had made and the character. This led to me redesigning aspects of my video
game which took longer than expected, leading me to work overtime. I had followed my planning
correctly and my layout turned out how I wanted it, I think I just should have planned out my
background and colour theme more thoroughly.
The visuals overall took me up to the beginning of the second week of production. I then moved onto
my animation and as I was still a bit behind with time I carried on completing my production in my
own time. Even though I did do this for the rest of the week, I did manage to finish my whole game
animation by the end of the two weeks of production in time to start completing my evaluation. This
was seen as an achievement to me as, even though I had a slip up, I was still able to complete my
game in time.
I feel like that if I didn’t have the slip up at the beginning of production I could have had saved myself
a lot more stress, and I even could have developed new ideas in this process as I wouldn’t have felt
under pressure about completing my game.
Overall, I do feel I could have prevented my issue with time management if I had just planned out my
visuals a bit more thoroughly, although I am happy with how my product came out overall at the end
of the last week of production.

5. Technical Qualities
Background:
The first object that I designed for the background of my game were the trees. I personally feel like this aspect of my
game was designed fairly well as I used lots of different shades of colour (dark, light, medium brown, etc) which made
my tree look more realistic and smooth.
However, due to the pressure of time, I didn’t get to add that much detail to the rest of the background. I used a dark
green to cover the rest of the background and drew around the tree’s leaves to make the tree’s look more like trees. To
make the background have better quality I feel like I could have used other shades of colours to make the background
look more HD and picturesque.
Overall, I don’t think the background of my animation was a strong point with the technical aspects of my game.
However I was happy with how some of the aspects of my game came out such as the platforms and some of the
challenging objects I created like the pits of fire and water, and also the spikes. Like I did with the trees, I added in
shading and used different colours to make the visuals have better quality. The shading of the platforms was quite a
long process. I created a layer and created a section of a platform, then I duplicated that layer so I could make multiple
rows of platforms without having to design multiple platforms again and again. This made the visuals look smooth and
the layout clear.
I was also happy with how the objects came out when I showed the tools at the top of the game. Objects like the axe
and the wood had different colours of shading in it, giving it a smooth outcome.

6. Aural Qualities
Strengths:
I am quite happy with how my background music came out for the game as I feel like it is quite catchy. I made the
audio tempo of the music a bit lower than average as I didn’t want to background music to be too loud so that it
doesn’t make the player loose concentration or get frustrated. I made the sound effects a bit louder than the
background music as I wanted the player to be alert when they collect the objects they need.
The quality of the sound is fine, in my opinion, as the music is clear and their isn’t any glitches or different speed
changes.
I do feel, however, that there are a few things that I feel like I could have changed or added in my video game with
the music or sound effects.
Firstly, at the beginning of my game where it shows the main menu, I tried to use different music for that part to the
music playing throughout the duration of the rest of the game. The music I used for the main menu section has the
same tune to the music playing in the rest of the game, just a different beat. If I could change something about this I
would probably create a different tune for the beginning that wasn’t so similar as it would be clear what tune is for
the main menu and what the background music is for the game. For example, in the game ‘Fire boy and Water girl’
there is different background music for the main menu to the music playing during the game itself. The music for the
actual game is more upbeat which may be because when the player is playing the game they want to feel more
motivated to play it (instead of the music being slow like on the main menu). This is kind of like what I did on my
production. There is more of a beat to the background music on the actual game itself.
I am quite happy with how the sound effects came out when put in with the background music. The sound effect for
when the character picks up the leaves is more high pitched and is clear to hear which I like. However I do feel like
more sound effects could have been added, for example a sound for when the wood is being laid for the bridge or
the ladders could have been quite effective. However I wanted to make sure I had the sound effects for the leaves
put in before creating anything else.

7. Aesthetic Qualities
In my opinion, I was quite happy with how my worked looked and the visual side of it. I had stuck to the color theme I
wanted by using the different shades of green for the background and the writing. I wanted to use green as I wanted
my game to be jungle themed (which usually has a green/yellow theme color to it)
The character is dressed in a light brown jacket with red trousers. I feel like the light brown clothing represents
adventurers clothing and is a common theme in adventure games or film for the characters to be wearing light brown
clothing.
These are examples from
existing products where
the character are wearing
brown/green clothing in
an adventure game.
The top half of my
character is wearing
green and the bottom
half of my character is
wearing dark red
Background:
The background wasn’t designed as well as I wanted it to turn out. I feel like this was due to time management and I
feel like I spent a lot of time designing other objects and making sure that had was designed well, like the platforms,
the spikes, water, etc. If I could improve the visuals of my background I would have included different shades of the
green I used so it would look more interesting and colorful. However, I do like the trees that I made for the background
as they have different shadings of brown in it

8. Audience Appeal
Target Audience:
I feel like my advergame would appeal to people of the ages 8-15 years. This is because, firstly, my video
game doesn’t show anything graphic or anything violent so it is is suitable for people under the age of
18. Also, the game is pretty simple and isn’t too difficult for people of a younger age to complete.
Also, the colors that I used are quite bright and colorful (primary colors) which is appealing to the
people of a younger age.
I used the
color theme
of green
and yellow
(primary
colors
attract a
younger
audience)
Statistically, my game is likely to appeal to boys
more than girls as it is more common for boys to
be interested in building objects and using
weaponry in games (e.g. using the axe and bow
and arrow)
Anyone who enjoys playing games like ‘Super
Mario Bros’, ‘Fireboy and Watergirl’ or ‘Jungle
Quest’ are likely to be the type of people to take
an interest in my game as it is similar in a way
they are all platform games and some of them
jungle-related like my game.